Many students have recently connected with a group of activists advocating for political bipartisanship. This group, Restore the Balance, is a nonprofit organization focused on fighting political extremism.
“I think the impetus for this was Jan. 6. A friend and I witnessed the insurrection at the United States Capitol and got incredibly concerned with what we perceive to be extremists actions that were damaging to democracy,” cofounder Tim Sarmo said. “[We felt] we needed to somehow oppose extremism and figure out a way to close the divide that exists in the country today politically.”
Sarmo stated that many Americans feel they need to take a step back from politics because of overzealous protests on both sides. The issue that Restore the Balance addresses is just that. If people who are upset with the system do not participate, nothing will change.
In an effort to get people to stand behind a cause, the founders created a pledge that can be found on their website. There are over 2,000 signatures from people in 30 states. Along with that, a recent meeting held in Grand Junction saw 500 concerned citizens attending.
Recently, Restore the Balance set up a booth on the first floor of the University Center to reach out to a younger crowd. The goal is to involve students in the process of eradicating extremism.
“We have loads of volunteers. We can use loads more. We have two or three volunteer coordinators and if younger people would like to get involved, they should go to our website. There are links you can follow to volunteer and we’d love to have more young people,” board member Kirk Rider said.
Restore the Balance has seven principles that the organization is founded on. They are bipartisanship, facts, open policy solutions, public interest, problem-solving, freedom to choose a party and individual responsibility. Deeper descriptions can be found on the website.
“We want to encourage people to get involved, not based in a partisan fashion, but to recognize that they have an obligation or responsibility to oppose anti-democratic forces that are working in the country today, that truly, democracy is at risk. We can’t tolerate insurrection. We can’t tolerate conspiracy theories. We can’t tolerate election deniers who somehow challenge the legitimacy of our choices with no basis. In fact, we need to see truth return in our political dialogue, we need to engage people who have largely disengaged from politics today, particularly youth,” Sarmo said.
There is a list of candidates on the website. Each has a score and based on that, Restore the Balance has decided to endorse some and not others. There is also a list of non-endorsed, but acceptable candidates.
